Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Special Report

U.S. Department of Transportation

Research and Innovative Technology Administration

February 2009

North American Trade Growth Continued in 2007

by Steven Beningo and Fahim Mohamed

SR-011

Trade between the United States and 

its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners—Canada 

and Mexico—has more than doubled 

in dollar value since the inception of 

NAFTA in 1994. In 2007, U.S. trade 

with Canada and Mexico reached 

$909 billion—a 5 percent increase 

over the prior year’s total trade value. 

Since 2001, U.S.-NAFTA trade has 

grown by an average annual rate of 

7 percent. This report examines the 

rapid growth rates, modal distribution, 

top gateways, and major commodities of U.S.-NAFTA trade and looks at 

U.S.-NAFTA trade volume by state.

NAFTA Trade Volumes

In 2007, U.S. exports to NAFTA 

countries were valued at $385 billion, 

while imports were valued at $524 

billion. U.S.-Canada trade accounted 

for 62 percent ($562 billion) and U.S.-

Mexico trade 38 percent ($347 billion) 

of total U.S.-NAFTA trade. 

Measured by value, U.S.-NAFTA 

trade moves primarily via land modes 

(table 1). In 2007, land transportation accounted for 88 percent ($797 

billion) of the trade, a relatively stable 

proportion since 1995 (fi gure 2). 

Two-thirds of the remaining trade 

value was moved by water and onethird by air.

Box A: Growth in U.S.-China Trade is Upsetting Traditional Trade Patterns 

Although Canada and Mexico, which are the 

focus of this report, have traditionally been the 

top two U.S. trade partners, the rapid 21 percent annual growth in U.S.-China trade from 

2001 through 2007 resulted in China supplanting Mexico as the nation’s number two trade 

partner in 2006. As seen in fi gure 1, despite 

dropping to third place as a U.S. trade partner, 

the value of Mexico’s trade with the United 

States still rose throughout the 2001-2007 

period. 

In 2007, imports accounted for 56 percent of 

the U.S.-Canada trade, 61 percent of U.S.-

Mexico trade, and 83 percent of U.S.-China 

trade. U.S. imports from China have more 

than tripled since 2001, and the value of imports from China now exceeds the value of 

imports from either Canada or Mexico. U.S. 

exports to China, however, still trail exports to 

either of the U.S.- NAFTA trade partners.

Figure 1: Value of U.S. Merchandise Trade with 

the Top 3 U.S. Trading Partners, 2001–2007

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Billions of current U.S. dollars

Canada

Mexico

China

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on 

data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign 

Trade Division, FT920 U.S. Merchandise Trade 2001-2006. U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of 

October 2008.
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Figure 2: U.S. Goods Trade with Canada and 

Mexico by Land, Air, and Vessel Modes, 

2001-2007

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percent

Land modes

Air

Vessel

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Table 1: Value of U.S. Merchandise Shipments with 

Canada and Mexico by Mode of Transportation, 

2007

(Millions of current U.S. dollars)

Total Exports Imports

Total, all modes 908,888 384,978 523,910

 Canada 561,548 248,437 313,111

 Mexico 347,340 136,541 210,799

Total, all land modes 797,303 344,817 452,486

 Canada 510,831 226,058 284,773

 Mexico 286,472 118,758 167,713

 Truck total 554,831 267,390 287,441

 Canada 324,747 174,343 150,404

 Mexico 230,084 93,047 137,037

Rail total 137,859 44,837 93,022

 Canada 91,459 25,497 65,962

 Mexico 46,400 19,340 27,060

Pipeline total 59,306 4,122 55,184

 Canada 58,350 3,334 55,016

 Mexico 956 787 169

Other and unknown 

 total1 44,069 28,415 15,654

 Canada 35,791 22,834 12,957

 Mexico 8,277 5,581 2,696

Foreign Trade 

Zones (FTZs)2

total 1,185 NA 1,185

 Canada 434 NA 434

 Mexico 751 NA 751

Mail total 54 53 0.4

 Canada 51 50 0.4

 Mexico 3 3 0.0

Total, air & vessel 111,585 40,162 71,424

 Canada 50,717 22,379 28,338

 Mexico 60,869 17,783 43,086

Air total 37,595 23,781 13,814

 Canada 26,087 16,957 9,130

 Mexico 11,508 6,824 4,684

Vessel total 73,990 16,381 57,609

 Canada 24,630 5,422 19,208

 Mexico 49,360 10,959 38,401

NOTE: NA = not applicable.

1

 “Other” includes other modes, for example; fl yaway aircraft and vessels 

moving under their own power, where the conveyance itself is the shipment.

2

 There are no exports from Foreign Trade Zones.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Figure 3: Modal Shares of U.S. Trade with NAFTA 

Partners by Value and Weight, 2007

Truck Rail Pipeline Air Water

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Value Weight

Percent

61.0

28.9

15.2

20.3

6.5

14.3

4.1

0.1

8.1

36.1

NOTES: These data refl ect U.S. import and export trade with Canada and 

Mexico. Weights of export shipments by land modes are not collected in 

the administrative records that provide U.S. trade data. The Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics has estimated the land mode export tonnage using value-to-weight ratios derived from imported commodities.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of March 2007.
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Measured by tonnage, water transportation carried more 

freight in 2007 than any other mode. An estimated 241 

million short tons moved via water, accounting for 36 

percent of the weight of NAFTA trade. In contrast, merchandise moved by water transportation accounted for 

only 8 percent of the total NAFTA trade in terms of value 

(fi gure 3) 

U.S.-NAFTA Trade by Surface Modes: Trucks are the 

dominant land mode, accounting for nearly 70 percent 

($555 billion) of land trade in 2007 (fi gure 4). Truck shipments as a percentage of freight traveling by land modes 

have been relatively stable since 2001. Texas, California, 

Michigan, New York, and Ohio, were the top states accounting for 51 percent of the total trade by truck in 2007.

Rail accounted for 17 percent ($138 billion) of the 2007 

trade by land modes. Michigan accounted for 31 percent 

of the rail trade, followed by California with 11 percent and 

Texas with 10 percent. 

Pipelines, mostly carrying petroleum and petroleum products, accounted for 7 percent ($59 billion) of surface trade 

in 2007 (fi gure 4). Virtually all of the pipeline trade (98 

percent) was between the United States and Canada, with 

almost 50 percent of this trade being with fi rms in Illinois, 

Washington, and Minnesota.

Figure 5 shows the growth of U.S.-NAFTA trade by land 

modes between 1995 and 2007.

Key Land Border Gateways 

In 2007, Detroit, Michigan, was the leading land border 

gateway1, accounting for 17 percent ($137 billion) of land 

trade, followed by Laredo, Texas, with 14 percent ($110 billion), and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York, with 10 percent 

($79 billion). 

Northern Border: Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo-Niagara Falls, 

New York; and Port Huron, Michigan, were the top three 

ports of entry on the U.S.-Canada border, accounting for a 

combined 57 percent of land freight crossing the northern 

border. There are a total of 86 ports of entry on the U.S.-

Canada border, with the top 10 handling 78 percent of the 

value ($397 billion) (table 2). 

1

 Gateway in this report refers to the Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) port of entry between Canada and Mexico for land modes, 

where the mode of transportation (truck and rail) may be inspected 

while entering or leaving the United States. A port of entry denotes an 

individual port and not a port district—a port district can comprise multiple 

ports based on the geography of a region. Flows through individual 

ports are based on reported data collected from U.S. trade documents. 

Gateways are ports through which large volumes of merchandise in terms 

of value move between the United States and its NAFTA partners. For 

the purposes of this report, a port of entry includes locations at those 

ports where goods enter or exit the United States. 

Figure 4: Value of U.S. Goods Trade with Canada 

and Mexico by Mode, 2001-2007

Truck Rail Air Vessel Pipeline

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

‘01 ‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07

Billions of current U.S. dollars

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Figure 5: U.S.-NAFTA Trade with Canada and 

Mexico by Surface Modes, 1995-2007

1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Canada

Mexico

Billions of current U.S. dollars

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Box B: Gateway Defi ned

A gateway is a port of entry across an international 

land border—consisting of one or more road, rail, or 

pipeline facilities. For example, the Detroit port of 

entry includes the Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador 

Bridge, a rail tunnel, and a freight barge. The Windsor 

Tunnel has three highway lanes approaching the port 

facility, with nine dedicated passenger lanes and one 

dedicated commercial lane at the inspection facility. 

The Ambassador Bridge has 4 lanes, which lead to 12 

inspection booths, of which 6 are dedicated to commercial traffi c.
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In 2007, the top three ports of entry handled 68 percent 

($217 billion) of truck freight crossing the northern border. 

The percentage of freight traveling by truck and rail varied 

signifi cantly between ports of entry. At Detroit, 84 percent 

of freight moved by truck and 16 percent by rail, with a 

similar split at Buffalo-Niagara Falls, where truck moved 

79 percent and rail moved 13 percent of freight crossing 

the border. Rail handled a much higher percentage of the 

cross-border freight at Port Huron than at the other two 

ports of entry. At Port Huron, 38 percent of merchandise 

moved by rail freight compared to 52 percent by truck 

(fi gure 6).2

 

Southern Border: In dollar value, the top 2 of the 25 ports 

of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border, Laredo and El Paso, 

Texas, accounted for 56 percent of land freight crossing 

2

 Totals do not equal 100 percent because some of the freight traffi c at 

Buffalo-Niagara Falls and Port Huron moved by other modes.

the southern border, while the top 10 ports accounted for 

95 percent of that freight (table 2).

As with the Canadian border, the split between truck and 

rail varied signifi cantly among the various ports of entry 

on the U.S.-Mexico border. At Laredo, 75 percent of the 

freight moved by truck and 25 percent by rail. Trucks accounted for 89 percent of the trade at El Paso, while only 

11 percent moved by rail. The highest percentage moved 

by rail among the top 10 southern ports occurred at Eagle 

Pass, Texas, where 60 percent of the freight moved by 

train and only 40 percent by truck. At Otay Mesa, California, trucks moved virtually all land freight due to the lack of 

rail service at that border crossing (fi gure 6).

U.S.-NAFTA Trade by Air: In 2007, the $38 billion in air

cargo trade accounted for 4 percent of the total U.S.-

NAFTA trade. Exports to Canada by air were almost twice 

Table 2: Top U.S. Land Ports by Value of U.S.-NAFTA Land Mode Trade, 2007

(Millions of current U.S. dollars)

Ranked 

by all 

land 

modes Port

Total land 

modes Truck Rail Other

Truck as a 

percent of total 

land modes

Rail as a percent 

of total land 

modes

Northern border

1 Detroit, MI 136,600 114,411 21,427 762 83.8 15.7

2 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 78,624 62,313 9,796 6,516 79.3 12.5

3 Port Huron, MI 77,078 40,370 29,151 7,557 52.4 37.8

4 Champlain-Rouses Point, NY 21,549 17,791 2,589 1,170 82.6 12.0

5 Blaine, WA 17,852 14,652 3,169 31 82.1 17.8

6 Pembina, ND 17,173 14,370 2,190 614 83.7 12.8

7 Sweetgrass, MT 13,693 10,721 1,740 1,233 78.3 12.7

8 Portal, ND 13,420 6,579 6,781 61 49.0 50.5

9 Alexandria Bay, NY 11,726 11,720 0 6 99.9 0.0

10 International Falls, MN 8,930 392 8,494 44 4.4 95.1

Southern border

1 Laredo, TX 110,355 82,638 27,317 401 74.9 24.8

2 El Paso, TX 49,054 43,479 5,156 418 88.6 10.5

3 Otay Mesa, CA 30,707 30,697 0 10 100.0 0.0

4 Hidalgo, TX 21,859 21,688 1 170 99.2 0.0

5 Nogales, AZ 18,164 13,253 4,829 82 73.0 26.6

6 Brownsville, TX 13,208 11,551 1,353 304 87.4 10.2

7 Eagle Pass, TX 12,025 4,831 7,190 4 40.2 59.8

8 Calexico-East, CA 11,943 11,433 264 246 95.7 2.2

9 Del Rio, TX 3,220 3,220 0 <1 100.0 0.0

10 Santa Teresa, NM 1,390 1,390 0 <1 100.0 0.0

NOTES: NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement. “Other” includes pipeline and mail. Numbers may not add to totals do to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder 

Freight Data as of October 2008.
BTS Special Report

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that of imports from Canada. Air trade with Mexico exhibited a similar trend with exports being signifi cantly larger 

than imports.

The top airports trading with the NAFTA partners are located in the Port District3

 of Cleveland, Ohio (including Louisville International Airport, Kentucky, a UPS hub; Cleveland 

Hopkins International Airport, Ohio, a DHL hub; and seven 

small airports) with trade valued at $13 billion. The second 

largest port district trading by air is New Orleans, Louisiana 

(Memphis International Airport, Tennessee, a FedEx hub; 

and Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, 

Louisiana) with trade valued at $10 billion.

U.S.-NAFTA Trade by Vessel: Ships moved 8 percent 

($74 billion) of total trade by value in 2007. The U.S. 

waterborne trade with Mexico was more than twice that 

with Canada, accounting for 67 percent of trade by vessel 

(table 1)

The number one port in terms of trade by vessel was 

Houston, Texas, accounting for 18 percent ($13 billion) 

3

 A port district is a collection of large and small ports within a geographic 

area.

of the total, followed by the port district of New Orleans, 

Louisiana, with $10 billion of trade.

Major Commodities Transported

Ten commodity groups accounted for 71 percent ($646 billion) of the total U.S.-NAFTA trade in 2007.4

About 17 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight shipments ($158 

billion) involved motor vehicles and parts. The dominance 

of motor vehicles and parts refl ects the continued integration of automotive production across North America. 

Michigan accounted for 45 percent ($70 billion) of this 

trade. The second largest commodity traded was mineral 

fuels, oils, and waxes ($130 billion). The top 5 commodities accounted for 60 percent of U.S.-NAFTA trade. See 

fi gure 7 for the top commodities traded with Canada and 

Mexico, and fi gure 12 for the leading commodities that 

travel through the top 10 land gateways. 

4

 The commodity groups are defi ned in the Harmonized Tariff System 

(HTS) of nomenclature, which is an internationally standardized system 

of names and numbers for classifying traded products. HTS codes are 

developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO), of 

which the United States is a member.

Figure 6: Share of U.S.-NAFTA Trade Value for Land Modes by Gateway, 2007

NOTE: Land modes include truck, rail, and other (pipeline, Foreign Trade Zones, and unknown modes).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.
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Of the $158 billion trade in motor vehicles and parts, $110 

billion occurred between the United States and Canada, 

making it the top commodity group traded between the two 

countries. Electrical machinery, equipment, and parts ($80 

billion) is the top commodity group traded between the 

United States and Mexico. 

Figures 8 through 11 show the top fi ve commodities moved 

by truck, rail, air, and vessel respectively. Table 4 shows 

the distribution of the top fi ve commodities of NAFTA trade 

by top land gateways in 2007.

U.S.-NAFTA Trade by State

In 2007, Texas ($147 billion), Michigan ($110 billion), California ($92 billion), Illinois ($53 billion), and New York ($43 

billion) were the top states for trade with the NAFTA countries. These fi ve states accounted for 49 percent of the 

trade (see table 3). In 2007, Texas accounted for 16 percent of the total trade with the NAFTA countries, with exports and imports almost equally split. In fact, exports and 

imports are balanced in many of the states along Interstate 

35, which originates at Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico 

border and goes as far north as Duluth, Minnesota, about 

160 miles from the U.S.-Canada border. By comparison, 

the northeastern states each import more merchandise 

from NAFTA partners than they export. Figure 12 shows 

U.S.-NAFTA exports and imports by state. 

About 57 percent ($289 billion) of land trade between the 

United States and Canada has its origin or destination in 

Ontario. This proportion has not changed much since the 

inception of NAFTA. Figure 13 shows the trade value between the top 10 U.S. States and the Canadian provinces.

In 2007, Michigan was the top state trading with Canada, 

accounting for 15 percent ($77 billion) of the land trade. 

Of this trade, 91 percent was with the Province of Ontario. 

Illinois and New York ranked second and third with trade 

worth $39 billion and $34 billion, respectively.

Two states, Texas ($88 billion) and California ($49 billion), 

accounted for 48 percent of U.S.-Mexico merchandise 

trade in 2007. Michigan ($31 billion) was the third largest 

state trading with Mexico.

Figure 7: Top Five Commodities of U.S. 

Merchandise Trade with Canada and 

Mexico, 2007

 Plastics and articles

 thereof

Computers, industrial

 machinery, and parts

 Electrical machinery and

 equipment and parts

 Mineral fuels,

 oils and waxes

Motor vehicles

 and parts

0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175

Billions of current U.S. dollars

Exports

Imports

Total Trade

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Figure 8: Top Five Commodities of U.S. 

Merchandise Trade with Canada and 

Mexico by Truck, 2007

Measuring and testing 

instruments (HTS 90)

 Plastics and articles 

thereof (HTS 39)

Motor vehicles and 

parts (HTS 87)

Computers, industrial 

machinery, and parts 

(HTS 84)

 Electrical machinery 

and equipment and 

parts (HTS 85)

Exports

Imports

Total Trade

0 25 50 75 100

Billions of current U.S. dollars

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.
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Table 3: Value of U.S.-NAFTA Trade Moved by All Modes1 by State, 2006 and 2007

Ranked by 2007 U.S.-NAFTA All Mode Trade (Millions of current U.S. dollars)

U.S.– NAFTA Trade by All Modes

U.S. State 2006 2007 Percent change

All U.S. states 866,099 908,888 4.9

Texas 141,027 147,333 4.5

Michigan 102,507 109,818 7.1

California 87,944 91,903 4.5

Illinois 49,769 52,703 5.9

New York 42,901 43,207 0.7

Ohio 40,475 41,507 2.6

Pennsylvania 26,794 26,821 0.1

Washington 21,732 24,367 12.1

Indiana 22,034 22,977 4.3

Tennessee 22,099 22,100 0.0

New Jersey 18,068 21,359 18.2

Minnesota 16,132 18,027 11.8

North Carolina 14,874 15,952 7.3

Kentucky 14,646 15,419 5.3

Wisconsin 14,860 15,245 2.6

Arizona 13,936 14,298 2.6

Georgia 14,500 14,200 (-2.1)

Florida 12,105 13,878 14.6

Massachusetts 12,416 13,421 8.1

Louisiana 10,709 11,917 11.3

Missouri 11,317 11,363 0.4

Iowa 8,440 8,952 6.1

South Carolina 8,148 8,140 (-0.1)

Connecticut 8,627 8,122 (-5.9)

Oregon 7,817 7,780 (-0.5)

Mississippi 7,313 7,756 6.1

New Hampshire 6,949 7,425 6.8

Colorado 6,439 6,750 4.8

Virginia 6,583 6,665 1.2

Kansas 6,143 6,070 (-1.2)

Alabama 5,660 6,066 7.2

Maryland 4,913 5,801 18.1

Montana 4,304 5,019 16.6

Vermont 4,340 4,072 (-6.2)

Oklahoma 4,135 3,858 (-6.7)

Nebraska 2,977 3,787 27.2

Maine 3,218 3,356 4.3

West Virginia 2,779 3,074 10.6

Arkansas 2,811 2,953 5.1

Utah 3,219 2,934 (-8.8)

North Dakota 2,335 2,887 23.6

Wyoming 3,130 2,872 (-8.3)

Nevada 2,061 2,183 5.9

Delaware 2,123 2,092 (-1.4)

Rhode Island 2,044 1,749 (-14.5)

Idaho 1,487 1,475 (-0.8)

New Mexico 1,214 1,421 17.0

South Dakota 1,185 1,286 8.5

Alaska 984 925 (-6.0)

Hawaii 198 154 (-21.9)

District of Columbia 141 121 (-14.2)

U.S. State Unknown 33,538 35,326 5.3

1

 All modes include – Truck, Rail, Pipeline, Mail, Air, Vessel, and Other. “Other” includes other modes, for example; fl yaway aircraft 

and vessels moving under their own power, where the conveyance itself is the shipment.

NOTES: Total for all U.S. states includes data for shipments where the U.S. state of origin or destination was unknown. For U.S. 

imports, the state of destination refl ects the state of the importer of record; this state may not always represent the ultimate physical destination of shipments. For U.S. exports, the state of origin typically refl ects the state of origin where the goods were grown, 

manufactured, or otherwise produced. However, in some instances it may not always refl ect the actual state of physical origin.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.
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Figure 9: Top Five Commodities of U.S. 

Merchandise Trade with Canada and 

Mexico by Rail, 2007

 Organic chemicals 

(HTS 29)

Computers, industrial 

machinery, and parts 

(HTS 84)

 Wood and articles 

of wood (HTS 44)

 Plastics and articles 

thereof (HTS 39)

Motor vehicles and 

parts (HTS 87)

0 15 30 45 60 75

Exports

Imports

Total Trade

Billions of current U.S. dollars

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Figure 11: Top Five Commodities of U.S. 

Merchandise Trade with Canada and 

Mexico by Vessel, 2007

 Iron and steel 

(HTS 72)

 Ores, slag and 

ash (HTS 26)

Motor vehicles 

and parts (HTS 87)

 Organic chemicals 

(HTS 29)

 Mineral fuels, oils 

and waxes (HTS 27)

Exports

Imports

Total Trade

Billions of current U.S. dollars

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.

Figure 10: Top Five Commodities of U.S. 

Merchandise Trade with Canada and 

Mexico by Air, 2007

 Special classification 

provisions (HTS 98)

Measuring and testing 

instruments (HTS 90)

Precious stones and 

metals (HTS 71)

Computers, industrial 

machinery, and parts 

(HTS 84)

 Electrical machinery and 

equipment and parts (HTS 85)

0 1 2 4 6 8 10 2

Exports

Imports

Total Trade

Billions of current U.S. dollars

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

Transborder Freight Data as of October 2008.
BTS Special Report

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Table 4: Top Five Commodities Traded between the U.S. and its NAFTA Partners Through Major Ports 

of Entry

(percentage of total trade at a port)

Northern Border

Port name

Motor 

vehicles

Electrical 

machinery Computers

Mineral 

fuels Plastics Other Total

Detroit, MI 42.0 6.9 16.0 0.7 3.5 30.9 100.0

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 25.0 5.9 10.8 9.1 4.9 44.3 100.0

Port Huron, MI 26.1 5.3 9.8 11.8 6.0 40.9 100.0

Champlain-Rouses Pt., NY 7.1 4.7 9.0 6.6 4.8 67.7 100.0

Blaine, WA 8.6 6.1 11.6 3.1 4.4 66.2 100.0

Portal, ND 12.9 5.5 19.7 4.6 4.8 52.6 100.0

Sweetgrass, MT 8.7 5.4 24.7 14.5 2.4 44.3 100.0

Pembina, ND 14.6 2.7 18.8 5.4 9.1 49.4 100.0

International Falls, MN 4.7 4.7 7.8 0.5 6.1 76.2 100.0

Alexandria Bay, NY 2.1 0.3 1.4 8.0 11.0 77.3 100.0

Southern Border

Port name

Motor 

vehicles

Electrical 

machinery Computers

Mineral 

fuels Plastics Other Total

Laredo, TX 22.4 17.6 18.3 0.7 5.0 36.0 100.0

El Paso, TX 9.8 37.1 18.6 1.2 3.9 29.4 100.0

Otay Mesa, CA 6.3 46.9 7.1 0.3 5.2 34.3 100.0

Hidalgo, TX 5.1 35.8 18.1 4.1 2.9 34.0 100.0

Nogales, AZ 24.2 25.8 9.6 0.3 2.9 37.2 100.0

Brownsville, TX 7.3 28.4 7.2 4.6 7.1 45.4 100.0

Eagle Pass, TX 41.4 4.4 5.7 0.9 7.0 40.6 100.0

Calexico East, CA 9.2 39.2 14.4 0.6 3.5 33.1 100.0

Del Rio, TX 10.5 24.2 19.6 0.1 9.9 35.7 100.0

Santa Teresa, NM 10.4 21.7 19.0 0.0 1.3 47.5 100.0

NOTES: The commodities listed in the table are the top fi ve commodities in total U.S. - NAFTA trade by value.

A major port of entry is defi ned as being one of the top ten ports of entry on the U.S.-Canada Border or the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Data include both imports and exports.

Ports within each group in the table (Northern and Southern Borders) are ranked in descending order based on total trade volume moving through that 

port in 2007.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder 

Freight Data as of October 2008.
BTS Special Report

10

Figure 12: Trade Between the United States and its NAFTA Partners by State and Trade Type, 2007

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder 

Freight Data as of October 2008.
BTS Special Report

11

About this report For related BTS data and publications: www.bts.gov

Steven Beningo, International Transportation 

Specialist of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

(BTS), and Fahim Mohamed, International Transportation Analyst, Macrosys, prepared this article. 

Zhi Liu of Macrosys provided special assistance in 

creating the maps. BTS is a component of the Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

This Special Report is primarily based on BTS 

TransBorder Freight Data. Released monthly, the 

TransBorder Freight Data program presents statistics on freight movements between the United 

States and its North American trading partners—

Canada and Mexico.

For questions about this or other BTS reports, call 

1-800-853-1351, email answers@bts.gov or visit 

www.bts.gov.

Figure 13: Trade Between the United States and Canadian Provinces, 2007

NOTE: The Prairie Provinces are Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The Maritime Provinces are Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and 

Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Other and unknown includes Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon Territory.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder 

Freight Data as of October 2008.